realme 6 Review: Future-Proofed!

realme 6 review

The realme 6 is another huge leap for the company in terms of getting the latest tech into the mid-range department. And when we say latest, we mean the 90Hz refresh rate display. As of this writing, this makes the handset the most affordable smartphone to pack the said technology. The mid-range segment in the Philippines is a fiercely-contested stage, and realme is one of the players that keeps dropping phones with updated specs and software refreshes. It may be a win for realme in every release, but will the realme 6 continue the streak? Let's find out in this realme 6 review.

realme 6 Review


The Design

realme (yes, spelled in small letters) is known for punchy designs that is inspired by nature. It used lightning cues with the realme 6 Pro; but with the realme 6, the company goes extra-terrestrial with the use of comet patterns. Our review unit called the Comet Blue frames a comet's tail in electric accents when struck by a light source. It's more subtle compared to the realme 6 Pro's design which is a good thing to me. The overall backing is "glastic." It's a coined term for materials made of plastic with glass finishes. In turn, this made the back panel a fingerprint magnet.



realme 6 review Philippines

Your power button is now embedded with a fingerprint sensor which is a joy to use. On top of that, the whole suite of ports and buttons are in their natural order. We have a USB Type C, by the way, which makes this smartphone faster in charging capabilities. In fact, it supports 30-watt VOOC flash charging. The frame is also made of plastic, it's polycarbonate to be exact.

The realme 6 review | Pinoy Metro Geek

Display

realme 6 signals the departure to the waterdrop notch from previous releases. The 6.5-inch FHD+ display now uses a hole-punch design which houses the 16MP selfie camera. Likewise, the realme 6's marquee feature is the display's 90Hz refresh rate. Scrolling and gaming with the handset is much smoother. Everything is buttery especially when navigating thru the interface.

realme 6 review philippines display

Colors also pop in the display panel but they're not on the saturated side. It's also quite refreshing to see sharp images and contrast. You can also toggle display settings based on your preference like the color temperature which ranges from Cool to Warm. Special features like Eye Comfort, Dark Mode, and OSIE Vision Effect also come in handy. Brightness levels are also sufficient even in outdoor use.


You can force the display to be in 90Hz or 60Hz refresh rate. There's also an Auto Select mode where your phone will decide the best refresh rate depending on the app being used. The display is also treated with Corning Gorilla Glass 3 underneath the factory-applied screen protector.

Read also: Realme 6 Unboxing, First Impressions

Hardware and Performance

At the heart of the realme 6 is the MediaTek Helio G90T chipset which is developed for gaming-oriented mid-tier devices. You'll have up to 8GB of RAM and up to 128GB storage. In our Antutu Benchmark test, the realme 6 tallied a whopping 286,117 score. This also translates into our real-time usage; apps load fast and interface is quite zippy, even when locked at 90Hz refresh rate.

realme 6 review: performance test

Our favorite games with the realme 6 is Call of Duty and PUBG Mobile. With the use of 90Hz display, targeting is precise due to faster frame refresh per second. I tried playing in highest settings with these apps, and the realme 6 handled the job flawlessly. The handset is also excellent in Mobile Legends, even in high graphics. It's also worth-noting that Ultra graphics is not supported, but this is to hoping that realme 6 will be included in the list soon. All in all, you don't really have to worry about gaming performance with this one.

The realme 6 review | Pinoy Metro Geek

Consuming content is also a worthwhile experience with the realme 6. The screen is immersive enough for video streaming apps like Netflix. I am not a fan of the loudspeakers. Though its loud enough for viewing contents, it lacks some bass. But you don't have to worry about that, you can easily use earphones since the handset supports the 3.5-mm audio jack, or you can also opt to use Bluetooth-enabled ones.

realme 6 Comet Blue review

Calls are quite clear even in closed areas. It's also fast in connecting to cellular or WiFi network. It uses dual-band WiFi so it means you can connect to either 2.4GHz or 5GHz band.

Camera

The realme 6 is getting better in computational photography in every releases; and the handset is way better from the model it replaces, the realme 5 Pro. Its rear quad-camera module now includes a 64MP f/1.8 Samsung GW1 main shooter. The main camera is backed with an 8MP f/2.3 ultrawid, 2MP f/2.4 mono, and another 2MP f/2.4 shooter for the macro.

realme 6 review: 90Hz display refresh rate

Photos default in 16MP. Most of them look fantastic with great details, color accuracy, and contrast. In good lighting condition, dynamic range is good enough to not use HDR at all. I am a fan of the ChromaBoost which gives most photos a slight pop but not too much to be over-saturated.

realme 6 camera review

Portrait mode gives a good separation of the subject and the background. The UltraMacro mode shoots stunning macros with more details. The ultrawide camera also shoots dramatic photos but of lower quality compared to the main camera. Night shots are good with less noise compared to other phone's outputs.

If you're more of a selfie fan, the realme 6's 16MP front camera will be right up your alley. It brightens subject even when beautification toggles are in minimum.  Here are some sample shots:


Ultra Macro Shot




Night Shot


Ultra-wide angle shots

Normal Shot with Chroma Boost
Ultra-wide shot


Selfie shots
Software

realme is getting better in optimizing phone's software to its hardware; and realme 6 is a good example. The realme UI is also getting better in every hardware release. With the realme 6, I could say that it's a joy using the phone with software features that know what the users need. For example, the swipe gestures are now improved. You can now swipe from the lower right of the screen to go back. Or when you you're in a web page, you can use either swipe right or left to navigate pages. Of course, you can always settle for the navigation buttons, but for single handed use, I think this gesture navigation experience is better.


As always, the interface is clean and minimalist. It looks close to a stock Android which is always a great thing for me. Small details in the software like the punch-hole's glowing circle while in face verification always add up to the experience.


Notification shade and toggle controls are clean as ever. I had an issue with the phone being on limbo while unlocking it, whether using the fingerprint or the facial recognition. I'm not sure what's the cause of this but hopefully this would be fixed with a software update soon. Other than that, the software is very impressive.

Battery

There's a 4300 mAh battery inside the realme 6. With fair to moderate use, the realme 6 could last more than a day in single charge. With intensive gaming and usage, a fully charged phone in the morning could even end up running by night time. This is due to its multiple power efficient cores and software optimizations.


Charging the phone is quite fast. The realme 6 is supported by a 30-watt flash charging. In our charging test, we charged the phone from 0 to 100 in just one hour and eight minutes. This is when the phone is turned off while charging.

The Wrap

So is realme 6 worth your money? The handset starts at PHP 11,990. For most users who happen to love the realme 5 and 5 Pro due to their practical price, it may not come as cheap. However, the realme 6 is definitely worth every cent of your money. Again, there's no denying the fact that it is one of (if not the most) the most affordable handsets that offers 90Hz refresh rate display. The realme 6 is straight-out an easy phone to recommend.


The realme 6 is the absolute winner in the realme 6 series. This is the phone that most people will buy. If I'm in the market for a future-proofed smartphone that would still be relevant in a couple of years and the one that won't break the bank, this is definitely one of the best choices.

realme 6 specs

162.1 x 74.8 x 8.9 mm at 191 grams
6.5-inch IPS LCD FHD+ Display, 405 ppi density
90Hz Smooth Display (90Hz Refresh Rate), 1080 x 2400p
Gorilla Glass 3
MediaTek Helio G90T
Octa-Core (2x 2.05 GHz Cortex-A76 and 6x 2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
Mali-G76 MC4 GPU
Up to 8GB RAM
128GB storage, expandable via microSD card
Rear: 64MP Quad Camera, 8MP ultrawide, 2MP Macro, 2MP Depth
Up to 4K@30fps video recording, Gyro-EIS
Front: 16MP f/2.0 aperture
Up to 1080p@30fps
Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac
Bluetooth 5.0 LE
GPS, AGPS, GLONASS, BDS
USB Type C
USB OTG
3.5-mm audio jack
Android 10 with Realme UI
4G LTE; Dual SIM; Dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, GPS, USB Type-C 2.0
Side-mounted fingerprint reader
Accelerometer, Gyro, Proximity, Compass
4300 mAh battery, 30-watt fast charging
Comet Blue, Comet White
Php 11,990 for 4GB RAM, 128GB storage
Php 13,990 for 8GB RAM, 128GB storage
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